Lee County eyes cost of adding two more school board members

When the school board expands from five to seven members in November 2016, the growth will have a financial impact to the district. Among the list of items set to increase the district’s expenses are the two additional board salaries and benefits, the building of two new office spaces and several day-to-day expenses, like technology support, travel and supplies.(Photo: Pamela Staik / The News-Press)Buy Photo

Two at-large members of the Lee County school board will be sworn into office in November 2016, taking what is now a five-person board up to a seven-member elected body. The move, approved by voters in 2014, is meant to expand the representation of one of the state’s largest school districts, and will result in a hefty price tag for the district.

Among the expenses district staff are preparing for are the addition of two more board salaries, the building of two more offices at the district office, as well as a slew of additional costs ranging from the potential hiring of an extra board secretary to day-to-day expenses, like technology support, travel and supplies.

One of the largest expenses comes from salaries and benefits.

Based on this year’s figures, the combined value of two board members’ salaries, including benefits, would cost $134,000 annually, reported Amity Chandler, the spokeswoman for Lee County schools.

“Any salary increase that is agreed to by the Legislature this year or next will increase that amount,” she stated in an email.

The addition of two more people on the board may also necessitate the need for more secretarial help.

Currently, there are two secretaries assisting the five school board members, and Chandler said board members have expressed the need for a third. Adding additional help could cost the district about $58,000, she stated.

The district can also expect an increase of about $5,000-6,000 for each new board member to cover the costs of in- and out-of-county travel, registrations for events and other miscellaneous expenses, such as supplies. General technology support, including computers and cellphones, would be an additional $5,900, Chandler reported.

Outside of these basic expenses, the district will have to find a place to house the extra board members.

The administration center currently has an office for each school board member, explained Reggie Snell, the director of facility development and programming.

“There is space we can expand into,” he said. “The plan is to take the additional space and add two more offices to the board office area so there would be seven offices total. We have an architect who will be working on some preliminary plans.”

He said it could be early August before cost estimates come into the district. However, Snell stressed the new offices will mimic the existing offices in size and design. He estimates the rooms are about 10 feet by 12 feet in size, just large enough to accommodate a desk, bookshelf and chairs.

“It’s not a palatial palace by any stretch of the imagination,” he said, adding it should only take about a month to build the new spaces.

If needed, Snell will also focus his attention on the dais, the elongated table where the board members sit with Superintendent Nancy Graham and board attorney Keith Martin during meetings.

“The dais that’s up there has room for nine seats, and that was built with the expectation that at some point in time there would be seven board members,” he said. Although there is physical space for all nine, he said it might be a tight squeeze.

No official plans have been drawn up for any changes to the layout, but Snell said he has heard some “hints of changes” in terms of seating arrangements.

One such hint proposes Graham sit opposite of the board members, so she could look directly at them when engaging in conversation. Where she sits now, at the far left side of the dais, makes it difficult to see the members at the other end, including Steven Teuber, the vice chair, and Pamela LaRiviere.

“I think they felt that would be a better way to communicate,” Snell said. Prior to moving to the new administration center, he said the former board room was designed in this fashion.

The only other known expense for the district at this point deals with the professional development opportunities afforded board members through their membership with the Florida School Boards Association.

Known more commonly as FSBA, the nonprofit organization is aimed at protecting and furthering the cause of public education and increasing student performance by giving school board members across the state specialized training. These professional development opportunities include two conferences a year, both in Tampa, each of which offer an assortment of workshop sessions in everything from finance to educational issues and state laws.

The annual membership costs a little more than $21,000, and it represents a flat fee, meaning it would not change with the addition of any new school board members. The same goes for master board training, which costs $4,200 as a flat fee and focuses on helping board members become more unified.

These board training sessions are ways for the elected officials to get on even footing, learn to communicate effectively with one another and focus on student achievement, explained Andrea Messina, the executive director of FSBA.

“It’s not about building a team that loves each other,” Messina said. “It’s about a team that understands each other and can work together for the best interests of the district and its students.”

This will only become more beneficial when the sixth and seventh board members are elected in 2016, said Cathleen Morgan, the chairwoman of the Lee school board.

“We have to have a culture of practices in place that we’re all comfortable with, so when the new people come in there is a culture they walk into and they have an understanding of their role and expectations,” she said. “I think that is critical. Going from five to seven, we want those people to come in and not have to deal with the confusion; we want them to come in and be oriented and feel confident in their knowledge.

FSBA also offers a four-hour ethics course, which is required by law, and a certified board member program. Additional training, travel and lodging would be costs taken on by the district.

A solid figure on how much the two additional board members will cost the district will be figured out as election day nears.

The primary election for the school board is set for Aug. 30, 2016, with the general election on Nov. 8, 2016.

The District 6 and 7 seats are at-large countywide districts, with the other five being single-district seats. District 6 is a two-year term, with District 7 a four-year term.